Do you ever get just a little tired of hearing the constant call of kids announcing, “I’m hungry ,” or ”What can I have to eat, Mum?” I know I sure do, and if you’re not prepared, it can be frustrating, relentless and annoying to say the least. In order to save your sanity, I’ve got a few quick and easy strategies that are guaranteed to lower your stress levels, and ensure you’re not stuck for an answer … ever again! As a parent, you know that preparation is the key to keeping things from going haywire.
So when that proclamation, “Mum… I’m hungry” is made in your house – you’ll be ready. You’ll be armed with the most nutritious, satisfying food imaginable and a few sneaky back-up strategies too. Plus there’s a bonus.
This is for all of us – not just the kids.
When you yourself are in need of a snack or want to treat yourself, use the same nourishing, simple strategies, and notice how you feel? And… how you look? It won’t be long before you look and feel better yourself. Now, that’s multi-tasking taken to a whole new level!
12 Simple Strategies:
The key to succeeding with many of these strategies is to include good quality fats and proteins in their whole forms. These foods in the right quantities provide great sustenance and leave our blood sugars stable. When these foods are regularly incorporated into our day, many of the reasons for hunger disappear. The more we cram these good nutrient rich foods in, the less the desire for sweetness and the more we recalibrate our taste buds to appreciate a more natural level of sweetness in our day.
We all know kids can be resistant to change & trying new things. Here are some ideas to help encourage your kids:
Experiment with one or two strategies and see how they work. How does your family respond? How does it affect the mood of the family? And then consider adding in another strategy, and so on, until those constant naggings of “I’m Hungry!” become a thing of the past or at least a LOT less often.
To be honest, it’s been an exhausting and emotional couple of days.
Our 13 year old fractured her finger and ended up at the public childrens hospital, Princess Margaret. It was our first visit and for which we’re very grateful was for such a ‘minor’ incident.
As many of you might already appreciate, it was a very long visit i.e. 7:30pm – 1:30am! It was a Tuesday night, and sadly, very busy (although it’s commonly like this), head traumas, car accidents, respiratory problems, high fevers, broken bones etc.
As our daughter noticed, many parents were prepared with snacks, water bottles and overnight bags, having travelled this road before. Not us… a long 6 hours sitting, waiting.
Seeing so many sick young children and the tireless commitment of the nurses and Doctors doing all they could to ease the distress of each child and their parents was humbling and emotional.
And there was so much fear for the families.
Fear of the unknown. Fear of not being able to help. Fear of sickness.
Screams of terror from young children that I’ve never heard anything like before. Heart breaking. It’s an experience I’d be very happy not to have to experience again. Following the visit to hospital, I’m now working on strengthening our daughters immunity and gut health.
Treatment.
Our daughter’s treatment involved a local anaesthetic to reset the fracture along with 4 different x-rays. Straightforward enough.
These interventions along with a couple of late nights and the mental and emotional stress she has experienced, although not obviously, definitely compromised her immunity and her gut health.
Even though it’s a ‘local’ anaesthetic, my belief is the body is a whole and once the needle is inserted into the blood stream and tissue, chemicals circulate throughout the body.
For example, some of the “temporary adverse effects that are cited and can affect people include:
Some people may have an allergic reaction. The patient could develop hives, itching, and breathing difficulties” Some of the research showed these effects were more common in ‘higher risk’ patients. References below.
It seems to me, even though the anaesthetic is ‘local’ as the term implies, the chemical must circulate throughout the entire body as demonstrated with the reactions given above.
Immunity.
So in the past two – three days I’ve worked hard on rebuilding her immunity and her gut health. Something that is super important, especially with Easter here and (a little) more sugar than she’s used to. Because as we know sugar is a Master at compromising immunity. And the arrival of winter coughs, colds and flu is just around the corner. I want her immunity strong and healthy.
Why?
She is totally fine and from all accounts very healthy. So why would I bother? Because while generally our bodies are resilient, it (chemicals, toxins, stress) all adds up.
Once you know what works and the body needs, it takes very little effort to flood the body with nutrients and to rebuild health, so why not. You never know what’s around the corner. And prevention really is better than the cure.
Lessons.
Sometimes it’s hard to know if all the healthy ‘stuff’ you’re doing is really worth it? Is it making a difference or is it really worth the expense or the feelings of isolation we can sometimes feel making healthier choices.
Yes. It is.
After this week, it has reinforced to me the great importance of making good food and lifestyle choices. Of having the knowledge to rebuild the gut and strong immunity. It is SO important and it does make a difference. Rest assured that any effort you’re putting into your family to keep them strong and healthy… is invaluable.
We’ve been lucky not to experience trauma before, however I don’t think it’s luck that we haven’t had to rush children to hospital in the middle of the night with fevers or unexplained symptoms. Healthy is a lifestyle and illness is not something we need to fear.
To learn more join me at my online and live workshops, ‘No More Sick Kids’! Natural remedies to build strong immunity and healthy tummies this Winter.
References.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265689.php
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2148940/
Meet your Microbiome.
This was the title of the Stool & Faecal Microbial Analysis Masterclass I went to recently with Dr Jason Hawrelak. Not a topic for everyone – but the geeky scientist in me LOVES learning about our bugs and all they do for us. It’s a hot topic, so thought I’d share a few highlights.
Jason is at the forefront of researching this topic i.e. gut health. His approach to supporting this incredible mutually beneficial relationship makes sense to me. Interestingly he poses that most microbes have a part to play in our wellbeing, even pathogens such as parasites.
When our microbes are in balance the body is in harmony and our bodily systems function more optimally, naturally supporting our well-being.
For example he cited, 70% of European children carry parasites, yet from all accounts are ‘healthy”.
A post on ‘Parasites the silent epidemic’ here.
Here’s a brief recap of the day:
Our microbiome i.e. our human microbes is a vital, and becoming a greatly appreciated, human organ. It weighs 1-2kg and exceeds the liver in the number of biochemical reactions it’s involved in!
A brief summary of what they miraculously do;
There’s bound to be more…
fyi I wrote this post with more info. in 2016, ‘Is our Microbiome guiding our evolution’?
And in the photo below is a summary of his slide showing many of the diseases associated with a microbial imbalance i.e. Gastrointestinal (GI) Dysbiosis.
He also shared how dysbiosis is diagnosed, ‘primarily by a patients’ medical and diet history’ and with stool analysis.
Throughout the day we also learnt:
6 key takeaways that were reinforced:
In summary.
Simply put, each one of the above points relates to either food or lifestyle choices.
To be truly healthy there is no escaping the need to be enjoying good food and a health promoting lifestyle. A lifestyle that naturally feeds a healthy microbiome without having to think twice about it.
It’s a simple message that unfortunately can be far more complex to make happen or understand as it involves nourishing not only our body / microbiome but our mind and soul.
And as we discovered in A Gentle Cleanse, it IS possible to feel better, clearer and more energised within just a few days.
Contact me at kate@katebarnes.com.au to learn more about how my programs simplify wellbeing and create a healthier lifestyle for you and your family. Or book in a time for us to have a quick chat here. It’s free.